Muscle cars and more shine at Valley Forge Casino Resort car show

Meghan, a Valley Girl at the Valley Forge Casino Resort, poses with a 2000 Corvette Tuesday, April 1, 2014. EveryCarShow.com will host the Spring Opener car show in the casino parking lot April 12. Proceeds will benefit the Pennsylvania SPCA. (Digital First Media/Gene Walsh)

UPPER MERION — Man’s best friend has had a best friend in EveryCarShow.com since the dedicated gearhead’s ultimate online car show roundup staged its first automotive extravaganza at Valley Forge Casino Resort two years ago.

With past shows, the cavalcade of souped-up, chromed-out machines that has rumbled into the casino’s upper parking lot has raised money for service dogs to assist individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities.

Now, with the Spring Opener car show on April 12, EveryCarShow.com’s creator, Randy Hofer, recalls the memory of his late brother, Paul Hofer, by earmarking the proceeds for Paul’s favorite charity, the Pennsylvania SPCA.

“He passed away last year from a rare illness, and he had a rescue dog, so we decided to partner with the Pennsylvania SPCA for the show, just to give a little back to them and benefit their operation,” Hofer explained. “This is a show I’ve wanted to do for him.”

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In addition to all the other awards in a number of categories in the fully judged show, Hofer will declare a sentimental favorite of his own with Paul’s Choice Award.

Though not the car nut that his brother is, Paul drove a not-too-shabby 1968 red Mercury Cougar, Hofer said.

“I will have to search that out for myself and figure out which car would mean the most to him, and that’s who will get that award,” said Hofer.

Unlike some car shows, EveryCarShow.com’s ethos is not limited to classic and muscle cars, antiques and street rods.

A “new age” category throws down the welcome mat to vehicles from the year 2000 to the present, Hofer said.

“We’ve opened it up to the new Challengers, Mustangs, Camaros, Chargers.”

“Our following is great in the tri-state area. They love the way we do the shows,” Hofer said. “We have great raffle prizes, food, trophies. We have a really good contingent that comes to our shows, wherever we are.”

The casino’s highly visible parking lot is what initially attracted Hofer to the site, he said.

“You can’t miss us. The way the parking lot is laid out, you can see all the cars if you’re coming down Gulph Road. Thousands of cars headed to the mall will see our show.”

As is almost always the case, the charity-minded EveryCarShow.com’s Spring Opener isn’t competing with other car shows on Saturday.

“That’s why we selected the date of April 12,” Hofer said. “We always know what’s going on in the area. It’s very competitive, so you have to pick the best date you can and put on the best show you can. You have to make your participants want to come to your show.”

Since Hofer and wife Nancy launched the “one-stop online car show,” a national roundup of “cool cars and cool events for all ages,” a couple of years ago, EveryCarShow.com has attracted nearly half a million visitors, said Hofer, who is now engaged in the venture full time.

“We had a dream that it was going to work. We felt that all the car show web sites out there didn’t do it right, so we wanted ours to be the best. It’s really gained national attention and we’ve got partners around the country, and an app coming out later this month.”

Those who may have gotten a gander at Hofer’s fully customized 2000 Corvette at EveryCarShow.com’s Home Depot show last fall might notice that the horses gallop in greater numbers when the car takes the spotlight at the casino Spring Opener.

Thanks to the miracle of nitrous oxide, the horsepower now vrooms out at 840, Hofer noted proudly.

“It doesn’t get driven much at all,” he said. “It only has 47,000 miles on it, for a 2000 car.”